Football
Luke Cyphers 16y

REPORTING FROM ... U.S. OLYMPIC TRACK AND FIELD TRIALS

EUGENE ORE. — Nike pretty much runs this place, since the company was pretty much the brainchild of a University of Oregon coach, and swooshes pretty much cover everything—except for adidas athletes like Tyson Gay and Jeremy Wariner. Swooshes will also cover the U.S. Olympians in Beijing, because Nike will supply the official USA Track and Field uniforms. Nike PR has reminded us of that, as well as the fact they're selling official gear to the public at large. So we'll reward their efforts by giving a quick rundown of the pitch.

Basically, Nike says the uniform is awesome because:

  • It's a uniquely American design.
    On the back of the tops, there's a liberty-ish torch, Latino Aztec-ish graphics, African-American signifiers, Celtic symbols and lots of other melting-pot, polyglot, gorgeous mosaic elements, drawn up by tattoo artists. The form-fitting gear will resemble a Ray Bradbury short story collection on the backs of U.S. runners in Beijing.

  • It's mix-and-match functional.
    The company calls it the "Swift" system of dress. Sprinters like the tight aerodynamic stuff, distance folks like the light airy garb, and in between, there's plenty of gear for poly-event athletes like decathlete Bryan Clay to make good choices. Which is really what life—and America—is all about.

  • It's light.
    In addition to using featherweight fibers, anywhere they could designers ditched stitching for high-tech super tape that holds seams together. Though we mourn the passing of seamstresses.

  • It's recycled.
    The make the togs partly out of old water bottles and stuff.

  • It makes you faster.
    The sleeves and socks in the unis diminish wind drag up to 19%, to the point where they're even less draggy than hairless human skin. Which, while up to .02 seconds faster in a sprint, is kind of disturbing.

That all sounds great, but as they say in the Rotary Club 4-Way Test, "Is it the Truth?" We asked Nike athlete Bernard Lagat. (Why? Because he's the 1,500- and 5,000-meter world champ; he's unfailingly polite; he responds to emails; he gives good quotes; his wife, Gladys, makes a mean quesadilla; and his kid, Miiko, is cute as a button! Not necessarily in that order.) And here's what Kip (that's what Bernard Lagat's friends call him, and well, we consider him a friend, even though he probably thinks we're just irritating bandwagony hangers-on) has to say about the new kit.

"I like the uniform," he says. "It's what I need." And then the former Washington State Cougar jogged down memory lane. "Everything from the top of the uniform down to the shoes is so much different now than 10 years ago. I was looking the other day at a pair of shoes that I almost broke the NCAA indoor (mile) record in, I think it was 3:56 [Ed.'s note: actually, 3:55.65, but who's counting?], and you compare it to what I wear now, and compare the uniform to the uniform now, it's so light. Wow. You see what's happening in the swimming world, it's happening in the running world, too."

So there you have it. On the way to citius, altius, fortius, the U.S. will look good, feel good, run good. Thus sayeth The Swoosh.

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